Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, yesterday presented an audit report of joint venture operations which revealed a discrepancy of $1.79 billion in payments made by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).
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MINISTER of State for Petroleum Resources, Edmund Daukoru, who was summoned by the House of Representatives last week to defend his role in the alleged fraudulent underpayment of over $3.2 billion for crude oil lifted by Shell Petroleum Development Company has exonerated himself.
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31 Aug 2006 Illegal Weapons From International Dealers Our Concern - Obasanjo
Supply of illegal weapons from international arms dealers continues to be of great concern in controlling conflicts in the gulf of Guinea, President Obasanjo has said.
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31 Aug 2006 Naccima Tasks FG On N/Delta Restiveness
Umuahia

THE Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has said that the only way to stem the increasing restiveness in the Niger Delta region is for the government to continue to dialogue with those concerned, just as the Abia State government tasks the in-coming administration to make the issue of security a priority because it affects all facets of the country's development.
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Host Communities of the oil minerals producing areas in the Niger Delta Region yesterday demanded the retainership of 50 percent of the 13 percent derivation accruable to the oil producing states as a precondition for cessation to the long drawn hostility and hostage taking in the region.
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THE nation's oil workers resolved, yesterday, to withdraw their services and shut down the petroleum and gas sector for three days from September 13. This is to protest the increasing violence and attacks on oil workers in the Niger Delta, the latest of which resulted in the death of a Community Relations Officer (CLO) of Shell, Mr Nelson Ujeya.
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THE fear of a possible attack from members of the oil producing host communities yesterday kept state governors of major oil producing states from the on going public hearing on Revenue Allocation Bill in Asaba for the South South geopolitical zone.
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29 Aug 2006 Ibori Insists On 50 Percent Derivation
Asaba

GOVERNOR James Ibori of Delta State insisted, yesterday, that derivation for oil producing communities should be increased to 50 per cent from the present 13 per cent with a view to addressing the peculiar problems of the oil producing communities.
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has described the Nigeria-United States Gulf of Guinea Energy Security Initiative as a measure aimed at securing $600 billion new investments through stable flow of crude oil from the region's estimated 14 billion barrels from the reserves.
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28 Aug 2006 N. Delta - SSS Nabs 4 Hostage-Takers
Asaba

The war against hostage -taking in the Niger Delta received a boost at the weekend with the arrest of four hostage- takers in connection with the abduction of the Lebanese. Like a movie scene, operatives of State Security Service (SSS), Delta State Command, lured the suspects from Port-Harcourt to a hotel in Asaba where they were nabbed. A total of N4.5 million and charms were allegedly recovered from them.
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PEACE appears imminent in the Niger Delta with militant groups promising to halt hostage taking and other forms of criminalities. Appealing for cease fire in the region few hours after some expatriates were taken hostage in Port Harcourt at Saipem, a group, Movement of The Niger Delta People, which had claimed responsibility for the abduction of a German, Guido Schiffarth who recently breath the air of freedom, said in an online statement yesterday that it had become obvious that violence was no longer the way out of the woods for the region.
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Barely 48 hours after six hostages kidnapped by militants in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on August 13, 2006 were freed two expatriates working for Saipem, an oil servicing company affiliated with Agip oil were late Thursday night kidnapped.
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26 Aug 2006 SSS Men Arrest Kidnappers of Expatriates in N-Delta
Asaba

A member of a syndicate which specializes in kidnapping of expatriates in the Niger Delta region for ransom before their release has been arrested by men of the State Security Service (SSS), in Delta State. The suspect was arrested when he was going to collect N50 million ransom before the release of a Lebanese national who was allegedly abducted on the 18th of this month in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
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25 Aug 2006 6 Abducted Foreign Oil Workers Regain Freedom
Lagos

SIX foreign oil workers kidnapped 10 days ago in the Niger Delta region by militants were yesterday handed over to representatives of their respective home governments in Nigeria at the Presidential Lounge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
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IJAW leaders have called on the Federal Government to exercise restraint and not employ brute force in dealing with hostage takers promising to collaborate with all relevant agencies to seriously tackle the problem.
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Militants yesterday attacked site 10, an oil firm under Agip, leaving a Soldier feared dead. The militants stormed the base at about 9.30 pm in a bus and fired sporadically at the soldiers on guard at company premises.
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Worsening poverty and the failure of the Federal Government to implement agreements reached with militant youths are responsible for the rising wave of unrests and hostage taking in the Niger Delta, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Bayelsa State, Mr. Moses Taribi, has said.
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24 Aug 2006 Defence Hqts Investigates Killings
Abuja

The Defence Headquarters yesterday said it had commenced an inquisition into recent violence in the Niger Delta region of the country to unravel the rationale behind what it called 'unnecessary loss of lives'.
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AS controversy continued yesterday to trail last Monday's shoot out between troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and Niger Delta militants which claimed 11 lives, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Martin Luther Agwai has ordered probe of the clash.
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LAGOS lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to revisit the Okigbo Report on the 1991 Gulf War Oil Windfall to enable Nigerians know what happened to the $12 billion revenue earned by the country during the period.
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24 Aug 2006 Revisit Gulf War Oil Windfall, Gani Tells FG
Abuja

The last may not have been heard on the controversial Gulf War oil windfall that accrued to the country 15 years ago, during the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), as Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), yesterday asked the Federal Government to make public the Pius Okigbo Report on the matter.
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24 Aug 2006 Two Suspected Illegal Oil Bunkerers Nabbed
Lagos

TWO suspected oil bunkerers were yesterday in Lagos arrested with 5,000 litres of illegally-siphoned Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol by men of the Nigerian Navy.
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23 Aug 2006 N/Delta Crises - PENGASSAN May Pull Out Members
The government of Bayelsa State has been indicted for the August 8, 2006 kidnap and possible death of Comrade Nelson Ujeya, a Community Liaison Officer with the Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd. (SPDC) during the last Sunday shoot out between men of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Restore Hope, and militant youths along Biobou Creek at the Niger/Delta.
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23 Aug 2006 PENGASSAN Threatens to Pull Out of Niger Delta
Lagos

PETROLEUM and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the umbrella body for the nation's influential senior oil workers, threatened yesterday to pull out all its members from the Niger Delta region, following Sunday's gun battle between the Joint Military Task Force (JMTF) and militant youths which might have claimed the life of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) worker, Comrade Nelson Ujeya and 10 militants.
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22 Aug 2006 10 Killed in Militants, JTF Clash
Warri

ABOUT 10 militants were feared dead , Sunday night, in a gun battle with soldiers of the Joint Task Force (JTF), otherwise known as 'Operation Restore Hope' in the Niger Delta who stormed the creeks of Ekeremor local government area in Bayelsa State to free a kidnapped oil worker and a traditional chief.
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22 Aug 2006 11 Killed As Soldiers, Militants Clash
Yenagoa

CLASH between the Joint Military Task Force and Niger Delta militants on Monday left no fewer than one soldier, 10 others dead and a Shell worker missing. The clash may have been the first major fall-out of the presidential directive to the task force to flush out the militants from the nation's oil facilities and secure the environment for safe industry operations.
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22 Aug 2006 Bloody Shoot-Out in N/Delta, 12 Killed
Yenagoa/Lagos

The fragile peace in the Niger Delta creeks snapped Sunday night as 12 persons were reportedly killed in a gun battle between men of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Restore Hope (JTF), and militant youths along Biobou Creek.
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Bayelsa State Governor, Goodluck Jonathan, has told Directors of the State Security Service (SSS) of the South-south zone that unless they strengthen their intelligence network, fighting the scourge of hostage taking and abduction of oil workers will be futile.
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22 Aug 2006 Mombasa Oil Supply Disrupted
Nairobi

OIL supply to western Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi was disrupted for over eight hours on Monday when the supply line at Kapiti near Mombasa was destroyed by thieves.
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22 Aug 2006 Oil Has Entrenched a Noticeable Change in Nigerians - Professor Aminu
PROFESSOR Jibril Aminu, a Senator of the Federal Republic and one time Minister of Petroleum Resources among several other high profile appointments, has said crude oil wealth has entrenched a noticeable change in Nigerians whose elite class live on oil diets.
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22 Aug 2006 Oil Supply Disrupted As Vandals Destroy Key Pipe
Nairobi

Oil flow to parts of western Kenya and the neighbouring countries was yesterday disrupted for eight hours after vandals destroyed a supply line.
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22 Aug 2006 Soldiers, Militants in Gun Duel Over Abducted Royal Father
Warri

MILITANTS in Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State have kidnapped a traditional chief in the area for supposedly helping himself to the ransom he collected on their behalf for the release of a kidnapped oil worker who is still in their custody.
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21 Aug 2006 N/Delta - We 'Ll Not Be Cowed
Port Harcourt

A militant group, Movement of the Niger Delta People (MONDP) has said that it would not be cowed or intimidated by federal government's declaration on hostage takers in the Niger Delta region.
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21 Aug 2006 'Niger Delta Impasse Threatens Foreign Investment'
A Liquefied Petroleum Gas firm, Global Energy and Refinery said it has lost a sum of S2.2milliom to the increasing wave of violence in the Niger Delta, saying the crises in the region is a threat to foreign investment in Nigeria.
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21 Aug 2006 Crackdown On Militants Worries Oil Firms
Port Harcourt

The recent federal government crackdown on militants in the Niger Delta, which led to the arrest of about 100 of them weekend is currently sending jitters through the nations' oil and gas industry with fears of possible reprisal attacks.
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21 Aug 2006 House Summons Defence Chiefs
Abuja

The House of Representatives Committee on Navy has summoned the Minister of Defence, Chief of Naval Staff, National Security Adviser, as well as the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to explain the worth of Nigeria's offshore assets and the level of protection given the assets.
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A peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain in Rivers State, Prince Emman Anyanwu has condemned the incessant hostage taking in the region, describing it as 'barbaric'.
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21 Aug 2006 Rivers Assembly Summons TotalFinaelf
Port Harcourt

Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) has summoned the Management of TotalFinalelf, to appear before the House to explain why Indigenes of the state were denied employment during its recruitment exercise.
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20 Aug 2006 German Hostage Freed
Port Harcourt

The Movement of the Niger Delta People (MOND) which late Friday released the German, Mr. Guido Shiffarth, held hostage insisted they would not bow to intimidation
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20 Aug 2006 Killings - House Orders Chevron to Pay Compensation
Asaba

Sequel to the killing of four persons and injuries sustained by 25 indegenes of Ugborodo Community at the Chevron Texaco Farm in Delta state, the State House of Assembly has adopted the recommendations of its committee on oil and mineral matters to the effect that the oil company pay compensation to the said victims.
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19 Aug 2006 NGC to Reward Peaceful Communities
Warri

Nigerian Gas Company Limited (NGC) in an ostensibly move to curb the spate of youth restiveness especially in oil producing areas of Niger-Delta, has commenced a scheme designed to encourage communities that promote peace and order through the provision of certain projects within such communities.
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18 Aug 2006 'Mismanagement Cause of Discontent in N/Delta
Yenagoa

A governorship aspirant in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has attributed the crises in the creeks of the Niger Delta to discontentment arising from political mismanagement by successive state governments.
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DELTA State House of Assembly yesterday passed a resolution ordering the management of Chevron/Texaco company to pay 'reasonable compensation' to the victims of Ugborodo community in which four persons were shot dead and 25 others wounded at the company's Tank Farm during 4th February 2005 protest.
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18 Aug 2006 Julius Berger Pulls Out of Niger Delta
Yenagoa

The nation's leading construction firm, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, has commenced its exit from the Niger Delta area following the kidnap of one of its expatriate staff by militant youths operating in the creeks.
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18 Aug 2006 Monarch Gives Panacea to N/ Delta Problems
Port Harcourt

Abrogation of the Land Use Act, which makes all land in the country crown lands has been described as the only solution to agitations in the Niger Delta, since it would open the way for oil-bearing communities to benefit directly from resources in their land.
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18 Aug 2006 Nigerians Abroad Condemn Kidnapping
Lagos

Nigerians in Diaspora have condemned in strongest terms the recent kidnapping of a Belgium national working for Dredging International, an oil servicing company based in Port Harcourt.
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17 Aug 2006 Another Oil Worker Kidnapped In Niger Delta
Another foreign oil contractor was kidnapped in the Niger Delta yesterday, the sixth abduction of foreign workers in two weeks, industry sources said. The kidnap of the man from his car on a road close to the border between Rivers and Bayelsa states in the Niger Delta brings to 17 the number of foreign oil workers taken this month. Nine have so far been released. The man has not yet been identified.
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Barely 24 hours after President Olusegun Obasanjo read a riot act to security forces in the country to tackle hostage takers, unknown militants yesterday abducted Mr. Daniel Cowry, a Lebanese along Mbiama-East West road in Ahoada Local Government area of Rivers State.
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Following allegations contained in a petition to the Rivers State House ofAssembly by Emouha community of discrimination in appointment and promotiuons against their people, the House has summoned Totalfina Elf to appear before it to defend itself.
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17 Aug 2006 Rivers to Summon Total Fina Elf
Port Harcourt

THE Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resolved to summon the management of Total Fina Elf to explain why indigenes of the state who allegedly passed their recruitment examination last year were not employed.
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16 Aug 2006 Four Arraigned for Kidnapping Oil Workers
Four men will today appear before the Federal High Court, Abuja, for allegedly kidnapping oil workers and disrupting oil activities in Beyelsa state. They are the first to be charged with kidnapping foreign oil workers.
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16 Aug 2006 Four Hostages Held in Bayelsa Freed
Yenagoa

Four expatriate oil workers, two Norwegians and two Ukrainians held hostage last week by militants from Ekeremor in Bayelsa State have regained their freedom.
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INDIGENOUS contractors of Ilaje communities have issued a 14-day ultimatum to Express Petroleum and Gas company operating in Ukpokiti Field in the Ilaje coast line of Ondo State for allegedly neglecting to empower the people and engage indigenous contractors and thereby impoverishing them since 1997.
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16 Aug 2006 Kidnapped Oil Expatriates Regain Freedom
Yenagoa

THE four expatriates oil workers recently kidnapped by suspected militants in the Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State have been released.
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President Olusegun Obasanjo has directed the armed forces and police to end hostage taking in the Niger Delta through a joint operation that will ensure that kidnappers are hunted down.
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15 Aug 2006 Briton, 3 Others Abducted
Lagos

A British oil worker, Bryan Forgerty is among four people abducted from a nightclub in Port Harcourt, last night.
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15 Aug 2006 Cameroon Takes Charge, Nigeria Lowers Flag
Calabar

Amid a solemn martial tune rendered by a military band, Nigeria yesterday formally evacuated its armed forces from the Bakassi Peninsula, thus ushering in a new era in the region's history.
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15 Aug 2006 Gunmen Abduct Four Foreigners
Port Harcourt

FOUR foregners were Sunday night abducted by unknown gunmen from a nightclub in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

This is coming as three Filipino oil workers were yesterday freed, 10 days after being kidnapped.
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15 Aug 2006 Obasanjo Gives Bakassi to Cameroon Finally
Calabar

The ceremonies leading to the handing and taking over actually started as early as 9am with the arrival by fast boat of Cameroonian officials led by the Chief of Defence Staff of Cameroon, and the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Davdvel Yves. Others in the delegation led by Professor Maurice Kamto were Ambassador Richard Nelson of the US to Cameroon, Dr. John Diong, Minister of the Commonwealth, Governor of South West Province of Cameroon under whose purview Bakassi will fall, Mr. Eleya Zanda.
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Nigerian soldiers marched home on Monday as the Cameroonian flag was hoisted over the disputed Bakassi peninsula, ending a decades long row over ownership of the territory wedged between Nigeria and Cameroon.
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14 Aug 2006 Cameroonian Soldiers Invade Bakassi
Lagos

WIDESPREAD discontent is pervading the Bakassi Peninsula, with Nigeria accusing Cameroun of violating part of the agreement, by forcefully taking over some villages ahead of today's handover. This is even as residents have vowed to resist any ejection, as Nigeria finally began pulling out her troops weekend.
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14 Aug 2006 German Firm to Quit Niger Delta Too
Lagos

Shortly after a US oil and gas service engineering company said it would close operations in the Niger Delta, a German construction giant has said the same.
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14 Aug 2006 Nigeria Hands Cameroon Formal Control of Bakassi Peninsula Under UN-Sponsored Deal
A formal ceremony was held on the Bakassi Peninsula today to mark Nigeria's peaceful transfer of authority over the once-disputed region to Cameroon following a pact signed under United Nations auspices earlier this year.
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Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) and Agip Nigeria Limited, have been advised to respect the rights of oil bearing communities or risk their anger.
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13 Aug 2006 Alarm Over Alleged 'Cocktail of Poisons' in Delta
ONE of the major causes of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta is environmental degradation occasioned by oil spillage and gas flaring/leakages. Spillage most of the time is allegedly caused by acts of vandalism.
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13 Aug 2006 Swamps of Insurgency
Editor's Note
'Over the past quarter century, unrest in the Niger Delta has slowly graduated into a guerrilla-style conflict that leaves hundreds dead each year. The battle lines are drawn over the region's crude oil and gas that make Nigeria the number one oil producer in Africa and the world's tenth largest crude oil producer.' - International Crisis Group
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THE group behind the kidnap of Mr. Guido Schiffarth, a German in Port Harcourt, Movement of the Niger Delta People (MONDP), yesterday released a statement from the hostage, assuring the world that he is still alive but desperate to go home.
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12 Aug 2006 Bayelsa Govt Sends Delegation Into the Creeks
Yenagoa

THE Bayelsa State government has dispatched a high-powered delegation to the creek of Ekeremor council where four expatriate oil workers are currently being held hostage by aggrieved community youths with a view to securing their release.
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11 Aug 2006 Another Two Expatriates Kidnapped
Port Harcourt

The Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, Mr. Samuel Adetuyi has announced the kidnap of two expatriate workers in the early hours of the day at Borokiri and have been taken to an unknown location in the creeks.
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11 Aug 2006 Olokola Project Raises Communities' Hope
Port Harcourt

TWO expatriate oil workers, a Belgian and a Moroccan were yesterday abducted by unknown gunmen in Port Harcourt. The Police gave their names as Frederick and Nasiri. They could not confirm their place of work at press time.The Police said they have not established contact with any of their abductors.
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10 Aug 2006 Group Bemoans Hostage Taking
Yenagoa

A group of concerned Bayelsans under the auspices of Bayelsa Patriotic Front (BPF) has condemned the rising wave of hostage taking in Ijaw land and the Niger Delta.
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10 Aug 2006 Ijaw Youths Kidnap Four Oil Workers
Port Harcourt/Lagos

Four oil workers, two Norwegians and two Ukranians employed by Peak Petroleum Nigeria Limited were yesterday kidnapped by suspected Ijaw militants in Ekeremo Local Government area of Bayelsa State.
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10 Aug 2006 Militant Youths Abduct 4 Foreign Oil Workers
Yenagoa

BARELY two weeks after 16 indigenous oil workers and eight soldiers regained their freedom in the deep swamp of Bayelsa State, four expatriate oil workers-- two Norwegian and two Ukrainian nationals-- were yesterday abducted by armed youths in Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State.
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FOUR expatriate oil workers, two Norwegians and two Ukrainians were abducted at gunpoint yesterday by suspected militant Ijaw youths from an oil services ship off the coast of Nigeria in the Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State.
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10 Aug 2006 Olokola Project Raises Communities' Hope
Lagos

As all the major partners in the Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas, OK- LNG Project appended their signatures to the project's Memorandum of Understanding, a new vista in community development looks set to emerge soon.
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Illegal bunkerers and militia groups vandalising oil pipeline networks have cost the federal government N5.9 billion in the last one year, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources said yesterday.
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9 Aug 2006 Dokubo Seeks Release of German Hostage
Lagos

Detained Niger Delta activist and youth leader, Alhaji Asari Dokubo has called for the unconditional release of the German national held hostage by a militant group in the Niger-Delta just as he denied any involvement in the hostage taking.
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9 Aug 2006 Oil Search - FG, Northern States Sign $160m Mou
Abuja

UNDETERRED by several years of failed efforts, the Northern states yesterday signed a production sharing agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum for oil and gas exploration and production in the Chad Basin and Benue Trough.
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8 Aug 2006 Nigeria Says Troops Leaving Bakassi
Nigeria has begun pull ing its troops out of the Bakassi peninsula ahead of Friday's deadline to hand it over to Came-roon, the Nigerian military said on Monday.
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A group which called itself the 'Movement of the Niger Delta People (MONDP)' yesterday claimed responsibility for the kidnap of a German national, Mr. Didone Shephard last Friday and demanded for the release of Alhaji Asari Dokubo and former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha as conditions for his release.
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A GROUP that calls itself Movement of the Niger Delta People (MONDP) has claimed responsiblily for last wednesday's abduction of a German, Mr. Idone Shephard in Port Harcourt.
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6 Aug 2006 This Brass Has Been Ruined By Oil Spill
Lagos

The people of Twon Brass, an island in Bayelsa State, woke up one Friday morning to find out that the only water which serves as their only source of existence has been polluted by oil spill from the Agip export terminal in the town. As a result, their health and economic existence has been threatened.
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About five oil workers are feared killed and three Filipinos working for American-owned oil firm kidnapped yesterday in separate militant attacks in Rivers State.
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4 Aug 2006 Militants Abduct German National
Port Harcourt

A German national working for Berger and Bilifinger, Mr.Guido Shiffaiph was yesterday morning abducted by people suspected to have links with militants in the Niger Delta who took him to an unknown location.
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4 Aug 2006 Museveni Denies Buying Oil Land
Kampala

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni does not have the slightest interest in acquiring land in Bunyoro, his legal aide Fox Odoi said yesterday.
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4 Aug 2006 Pay for Oil Site - Bunyoro
Kampala

BUNYORO Kingdom is seeking compensation from the Government for the Waraga oil site in Hoima district, saying the area is a significant 'spiritual centre' for the kingdom.
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OIL communities in Delta State, yesterday, commended Governor James Ibori and the Delta State House of Assembly for Tuesday's passage of a law establishing a Commission to manage 50 percent of the 13 percent derivation fund accruing to the state, saying that hostage taking and pipeline vandalisation would cease in the state with the new law.
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Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has disclosed plans to give priority to projects in communities experiencing peculiar problems in the region.
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3 Aug 2006 Odili Stresses Need for Peace
Port Harcourt

Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State has said 'no meaningful development and sustainable development can take place in Nigeria without the enthronement of peace and justice.'
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3 Aug 2006 Saleh, Museveni Probed Over Bunyoro Oil Land
Hoima/Kampala

BUNYORO'S legislature, the Rukurato, is troubled by claims that President Museveni, his younger brother Gen. Salim Saleh and some senior army officers have conspired to grab 'the kingdom's land' in the wake of oil discovery there.
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3 Aug 2006 The Swamps of Insurgency - Nigeria's Delta Unrest
A potent cocktail of poverty, crime and corruption is fuelling a militant threat to Nigeriaís reliability as a major oil producer. Since January 2006, fighters from a new group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), have fought with government forces, sabotaged oil installations, taken foreign oil workers hostage and carried out two lethal car bombings. MEND demands the government withdraw troops, release imprisoned ethnic leaders and grant oil revenue concessions to Delta groups. The Nigerian government needs to forge far-reaching reforms to administration and its approach to revenue sharing, the oil companies to involve credible, community-based organisations in their development efforts and Western governments to pay immediate attention to improving their own development aid.
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Madagascar is becoming the next staging post of Africa's energy boom as oil conglomerates descend on the poverty stricken island to contend for a share of the recent discovery, but a global watchdog cautions that the windfall could challenge the island's fledgling democracy.
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2 Aug 2006 Delta Passes Oil Producing Areas Development Commission Bill
MEMBERS of the Delta State House of Assembly yesterday passed the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission Bill, which makes it mandatory to set aside 50 percent of 13 percent deverivation fund accruing to Delta state to form the financial backbone of the Commission.
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2 Aug 2006 NDDC Sets Up Special Unit for Priority Projects
The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has set up a special unit with the mandate to tackle priority projects in some communities that are experiencing peculiar problems in the Niger Delta Region.
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2 Aug 2006 NIIA Brainstorms On Niger Delta Development
Port Harcourt

The Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Professor Joy Ogwu has said that the product of their conference of 'Center for Advanced Social Sciences' would be used to work out lasting solution to the Niger Delta problem.
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2 Aug 2006 Restiveness in N-Delta is Expression of Frustration, Says Ijewere
LEADER of Professionals in the South-South, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, has described the spate of violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta as an expression of frustration and a cry for help by the youth.
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1 Aug 2006 'We Must Be Patient With Militants' - Oil MP
Lagos

Nigeria's oil minister said on Monday that he could not say when crude oil production lost to unrest in the Niger Delta region would return.
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1 Aug 2006 Nobel Laureates Wade Into N-Delta Crisis
Port Harcourt

THE planned intervention of the Commission of Nobel Laureates in the Niger Delta crisis yesterday commenced with a visit of its advanced team to the region.
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1 Aug 2006 Peace in Cabinda, the Enclave Between the Two Congos
Lisbon

Tuesday's signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for Peace and Reconciliation in Cabinda marks the end of 45 years of violence afflicting this Angolan province, the richest in the country because of its oil, gold, diamonds, phosphate, uranium, potassium and exotic woods.
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1 Aug 2006 Rebels Vow to Fight On Despite Peace Deal
Johannesburg

Separatists in Angola's oil-rich Cabinda enclave signed a peace deal with the government on Tuesday to end a 29-year civil war, but dissenting members of the independence struggle vowed to fight on.
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1 Aug 2006 Shell Company Goes Back Olobiri
After several years of suspending oil exploration at Olobiri, Bayelsa state, Shell Petroleum Development Company has announced plans to commence exploration work in the community.
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